People who are familiar with my blogging style would have noticed by now that I have a huge tendency to blog about stuff way, way after they have occurred. (I think the only time I blogged about an event minutes after it occurred was after a mild earthquake.) This post is not an exception. Hehehe.

The Parteeh was fun. I’m not really a sociable guy, and I was still my quiet self, but I think I got along pretty well. Everybody immensely enjoyed Wave 89.1’s DJ “There is No Fork” Marcelle’s impromptu fork-bending a-la-Matrix trick. And despite being utterly envious of AJ for winning the 30 GB iPod Video grand raffle prize (care of the guys from Enthropia), everyone (I think) went home with a bag-full of goodies and raffle and game prizes. It was just my bad luck that I didn’t get to the registration table in time to grab me one of those half-dozen glazed Krispy Kreme donuts.

Bo Sanchez graced the event with his “holy presence” and everyone got free copies of his books, How To Find Your One True Love, and You Can Make Your Life Beautiful, as well as a free issue each of Kerygma and FISH magazines. I had Bo autograph my books and had my picture taken with him as well (see in gallery below). I’m telling you, the guy has one of the widest smiles I know. Close-Up should get him as a model.

As interesting as the event itself, the after-party revelry was also fun and enlightening as well. Hanging out with the sponsors and steering committee at a nearby café then at Dencio’s Jupiter St. and finally at Pier One at The Fort, I got to learn a lot of tips and insights into the blogging world as well as some juicy tidbits and gossip. (I won’t talk about them since they’ve been declared unbloggable.) Thanks to Markku for letting me tag along.

I went home, sleepy, and thankfully in one piece by 4 a.m.

Shout-outs go to Migs (nice to finally meet you), Juned (it was good talking with you about cameras), Rico (I’m extremely flattered you think I’m a good writer) and Sasha (thanks for the TLA tips!), Jonas (so you’re the one who had commented on my Toki entries), Ganns (wow, it’s definitely not boring with you around, congrats on getting the Bubba Gump GC), Jeff, Benj, Shari, Joni, Geri, Mae, Ade, Cathy, Mark and Sorsi of Globe, and all the others who attended the party.

So what did I think of the event itself? Given that it’s a party, I think it was quite successful. Abraham and the rest of the steering committee managed to pull off one hell of a party, getting lots of sponsors, so much so that everyone got lots of freebies. There was ample amounts of time for networking and link loves were given before and after the event.

But in terms of content and program, I think the BlogCon last September was much more engaging to me personally. Yeah, the Blog Parteeh is a party and all, but I think the bloggers would really appreciate the lectures and presentations given by the blogging greats (like Abraham, Jayvee, and Marc, and Noemi the last time). Freebies are nice thing to blog about, but helpful insights and teachings inspire blogging to the next level. ("Give a man a fish…” )

That’s why I’m looking forward to attending Janette’siBlog 3 (aka the 3rd Philippine Blogging Summit) this April. Hmmm, I wonder if an unconference format would be good for these kinds of events?